Financial server, ic card terminal, and financial information processing method

ABSTRACT

A system capable of charging up electronic money cards using a credit card is provided. A PIN is authenticated between a card terminal and the credit card. The card terminal transmits to a credit company server an authentication result, amount information indicating an amount with which to charge up, and a credit card number of the credit card. After billing, the credit company server transmits the amount information and the credit card number to an electronic money server. The electronic money server identifies an electronic money card based on the credit card number. The electronic money server generates amount change information for adding the amount with which to charge up to “VALUE”, and transmits the amount change information to the card terminal. The electronic money card updates the amount of “VALUE” stored therein to an amount specified by the amount change information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/560,951, filed Dec. 4, 2014, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/671,227, filed Nov. 7, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No.8,925,800, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/975,483, filed Dec. 22, 2010, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,322,603, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/726,981, filed Mar. 23,2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,946,475, the disclosures of which are herebyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a financial server, an IC cardterminal, and a financial information processing method, which arerelated to, for example, purchasing electronic money with a credit card.

In recent years, settlement systems using electronic money have beenintroduced to retail shops and department stores, and come into wideuse.

The electronic money has a monetary value, called “VALUE”, which isequivalent to money and stored to, for example, an IC card provided asan electronic money card or a cell phone compatible with the electronicmoney, and the IC card or the cell phone is used as an electronicwallet.

The process of writing the “VALUE” to the IC card or the like isreferred to as “charging up”, which can be performed using a dedicatedterminal device (hereinafter, an “electronic money terminal”) installedat a store such as a retail shop, or it can be performed from anelectronic money server via the Internet.

Settlement by “VALUE” is performed by subtracting a payment amount fromthe amount of “VALUE” stored in the IC card or the like, and as in thecase of the charging-up, the settlement can be performed using theelectronic money terminal or the electronic money server.

An invention that uses the electronic money in a manner as describedabove is disclosed by the present applicant in unpublished PatentApplication No. 2003-61943.

In this invention, a cell phone provided with a function of connectingto the Internet and a function of handling the electronic money accessesthe electronic money server, and charges itself up with the electronicmoney while communicating with the electronic money server.

This invention allows the user to perform the charging-up, for example,without being restricted to any physical locations and business hours.

Incidentally, recent years have seen growing use of IC cards as creditcards. Conventional credit cards with a magnetic stripe are beingreplaced with ones that include an IC chip, which can provide a highlysecured credit card system that makes it difficult to forge creditcards.

In addition, it is also possible that bank cash cards with a magneticstripe are switched to IC cards.

Charging up the electronic money card by using a credit card has beencarried out for some time, but for security reasons, it is necessary toinstall dedicated lines between card terminals and a credit companyserver to authenticate credit cards, and such installation is costly.

SUMMARY

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide aninexpensive system capable of charging up electronic money cards byusing a credit card.

To attain the above object, a first aspect of the present invention isdirected to a financial server comprising: a card information receptionmeans for receiving card specification information and amountinformation from an IC card terminal having authenticated an owner of afinancial IC card based on authentication information stored in thefinancial IC card, wherein the card specification information specifiesthe financial IC card; a card information providing means for providingan amount change information transmission section with the amountinformation and owner identification information for the owner specifiedby the card specification information, wherein the amount changeinformation transmission means transmits amount change information forincreasing an amount of a monetary value to a monetary terminal, whichincreases/decreases an amount of the monetary value stored therein basedon the amount change information; and a billing means for billing theowner for a fee based on the provided amount information.

In a second aspect of the invention, based on the first aspect, the cardinformation reception means receives the owner identificationinformation for the owner, along with the card specificationinformation, and the card information providing means provides thereceived owner identification information to the amount changeinformation transmission means.

A third aspect of the invention is directed to an IC card terminalcomprising: an authentication means for authenticating an owner of afinancial IC card based on authentication information stored in thefinancial IC card; a card specification information acquisition meansfor acquiring card specification information for specifying thefinancial IC card from the financial IC card; an amount informationacquisition means for acquiring amount information for the authenticatedowner; a card information transmission means for transmitting theacquired card specification information and the acquired amountinformation to a financial server of the first aspect; an amount changeinformation reception means for receiving amount change information,which is transmitted from an amount change information transmissionmeans in response to the transmitted card specification information andamount information; and an input means for inputting the received amountchange information to a monetary terminal, which increases/decreases anamount of a monetary value stored therein based on the amount changeinformation.

A fourth aspect of the invention is directed to a financial informationprocessing method for use in a computer provided with a card informationreception means, a card information providing means and a billing means,the method comprising: a card information reception step performed bythe card information reception means for receiving card specificationinformation and amount information from an IC card terminal havingauthenticated an owner of a financial IC card based on authenticationinformation stored in the financial IC card, wherein the cardspecification information specifies the financial IC card; a cardinformation providing step performed by the card information providingmeans for providing an amount change information transmission means withthe amount information and owner identification information for theowner specified by the card specification information, wherein theamount change information transmission means transmits amount changeinformation for increasing an amount of a monetary value to a monetaryterminal, which increases/decreases an amount of the monetary valuestored therein based on the amount change information; and a billingstep performed by the billing means for billing the owner for a feebased on the provided amount information.

A fifth aspect of the invention is directed to a financial informationprocessing method for use in a computer provided with an authenticationmeans, a card specification information acquisition means, an amountinformation acquisition means, a card information transmission means, anamount change information reception means and an input means, the methodcomprising: an authentication step performed by the authentication meansfor authenticating an owner of a financial IC card based onauthentication information stored in the financial IC card; a cardspecification information acquisition step performed by the cardspecification information acquisition means for acquiring cardspecification information for specifying the financial IC card from thefinancial IC card; an amount information acquisition step performed bythe amount information acquisition means for acquiring amountinformation for the authenticated owner; a card information transmissionstep performed by the card information transmission means fortransmitting the acquired card specification information and theacquired amount information to a financial server of the first aspect;an amount change information reception step performed by the amountchange information reception means for receiving amount changeinformation, which is transmitted from amount change informationtransmission means in response to the transmitted card specificationinformation and amount information; and an input step performed by theinput means for inputting the received amount change information to amonetary terminal, which increases/decreases an amount of a monetaryvalue stored therein based on the amount change information.

The present invention makes it possible to provide an inexpensive systemcapable of charging up electronic money cards by using a credit card.

Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will beapparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of anelectronic money charging-up system.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of a credit card.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of an electronic money card.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of a card terminal.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of a databasestored in a credit company server.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of anotherdatabase stored in the credit company server.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the credit company server.

FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of a databasestored in an electronic money server.

FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of anotherdatabase stored in the electronic money server.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for purchasing“VALUE” with a credit card.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for charging up theelectronic money card with “VALUE”.

FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary screen displayed on thecard terminal when purchasing “VALUE” with a credit card.

FIG. 9B is a diagram illustrating another exemplary screen displayed onthe card terminal when purchasing “VALUE” with a credit card.

FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary screen displayed on thecard terminal when charging up the electronic money card with “VALUE”.

FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating another exemplary screen displayed onthe card terminal when charging up the electronic money card with“VALUE”.

FIG. 10C is a diagram illustrating still another exemplary screendisplayed on the card terminal when charging up the electronic moneycard with “VALUE”.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining variants.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary functionalconfiguration of a cell phone.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining how the electronic money card andthe cell phone are used.

FIG. 14A is a diagram for explaining a variant.

FIG. 14B is a diagram for explaining another variant.

FIG. 14C is a diagram for explaining still another variant.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present application will be described below in detailwith reference to the drawings.

1. Outline of an Embodiment

In an electronic money charging-up system 1 (FIG. 1), a credit card 8 isused to purchase “VALUE”, and an electronic money card 9 is charged upwith the purchased “VALUE”.

The “VALUE” as described herein is meant to indicate monetaryinformation, which is equivalent in concept to cash in the operation ofthe electronic money, and represents the amount of monetary value byelectronic data.

The credit card 8 is an IC card or a medium including an IC chip, and apersonal identification number (PIN) for the credit card 8 isauthenticated by a card terminal 3 via a reader/writer 6. As a result, aperson who entered the PIN is locally authenticated as the owner of thecredit card 8.

In addition, the card terminal 3 acquires an electronic money cardnumber from an electronic money card 9 via a reader/writer 7. Theelectronic money card 9 is also an IC card or a medium including an ICchip.

The card terminal 3 transmits to a credit company server 4 anauthentication result, amount information indicating an amount withwhich to charge up, a credit card number of the credit card 8, and anelectronic money card number of the electronic money card 9.

Based on the authentication result, the credit company server 4 confirmsthat the user of the credit card. 8 is a valid user, and identifies theuser by the credit card number.

Then, the credit company server 4 transmits the amount information andthe electronic money card number to an electronic money server 5. Inaddition, the credit company server 4 bills the user for the amountindicated by the amount information as a payment amount for purchasing“VALUE”. That is, the credit company server 4 credits the user's accountwith the payment amount for purchasing “VALUE”.

The electronic money server 5 receives the electronic money card numberfrom the credit company server 4, and based on this, the electronicmoney server 5 identifies the electronic money card 9 that is to becharged up.

In addition, based on the amount information transmitted from the creditcompany server 4, the electronic money server 5 recognizes the amountwith which to charge up, and stores the amount to a storage device.

The card terminal 3 requests the electronic money server 5 to charge upthe electronic money card 9 by transmitting the electronic money cardnumber acquired from the electronic money card 9 via the reader/writer7.

Upon receipt of the electronic money card number from the card terminal3, the electronic money server 5 acquires the amount with which tocharge up the electronic money card 9 from the storage device, andgenerates amount change information for adding the amount with which tocharge up to the amount of “VALUE”.

Then, the electronic money server 5 transmits the generated amountchange information to the card terminal 3.

The card terminal 3 receives the amount change information from theelectronic money server 5, and inputs it to the electronic money card 9.

Based on the amount change information, the electronic money card 9updates the amount of “VALUE” stored therein to an amount designated bythe change information.

In this manner, the user can purchase “VALUE” by making a payment by thecredit card 8, and can also charge up the electronic money card 9 withthe purchased “VALUE”.

Note that the card terminal 3 and the credit company server 4 areconventionally connected by a dedicated line because authenticationinformation such as the PIN is transmitted/received on a network, but inthe electronic money charging-up system 1, authentication informationconcerning the credit card 8 is not distributed on the network (and anauthentication result is distributed instead), and therefore the creditcompany server 4 and the card terminal 3 can be connected by a generalnetwork such as the Internet. Thus, the card terminal 3 can be installedat low cost.

2. Details of the Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of theelectronic money charging-up system according to the present embodiment.

The electronic money charging-up system 1 includes components such asthe card terminal 3, the credit company server 4, the electronic moneyserver 5, the credit card 8, and the electronic money card 9.

These components will be described below.

The credit card 8 and the electronic money card 9 are owned by the user,and they are a contact-type IC card and a contactless-type IC card,respectively.

While the present embodiment will be described below by taking as anexample the case where the credit card 8 is a contact-type IC card andthe electronic money card 9 is a contactless-type IC card, variouscombinations are possible.

As will be described in detail later, it is possible to use media otherthan cards, e.g., cell phones and watches, which are embedded with an ICchip for carrying out the functions of the credit card 8 or theelectronic money card 9. Alternatively, it is also possible to allow asingle IC chip to have both the functions of the credit card 8 and thefunctions of the electronic money card 9.

Furthermore, the IC chips can be either of contact type or ofcontactless type.

The credit card 8 is a medium that has embedded therein an IC chiphaving various elements formed thereon, and constitutes a financial ICcard issued by a financial institution.

The credit card 8 has stored therein a PIN, a credit card number, andother information, and performs information processing such asauthentication of the PIN.

More specifically, the credit card 8 accepts an externally inputted PIN,and compares it with the PIN stored therein to perform a PINauthentication process. Then, the credit card 8 outputs anauthentication result and the credit card number to the external.

Note that the credit card number constitutes card specificationinformation for specifying the credit card 8.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the credit card 8.

As shown in the figure, the credit card 8 includes elements such as aCPU (Central Processing Unit) 11, a contact terminal 12, a ROM (ReadOnly Memory) 13, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 14, and an EEPROM(Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) 15.

These elements are formed on the IC chip embedded in the credit card 8.

The CPU 11 is a central processing unit for performing informationprocessing in accordance with programs stored in the ROM 13 and theEEPROM 15.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 11 performs communication processingwith the card terminal 3 via the reader/writer 6 and authenticationprocessing for an authentication number inputted from the card terminal3, and outputs the authentication result to the card terminal 3. Also,in response to a request from the card terminal 3, the CPU 11 reads acredit card number from the storage device, and provides it to the cardterminal 3.

The contact terminal 12 is exposed to the outside of the credit card 8,and plated with gold, for example. The contact terminal 12 is broughtinto contact with a contact terminal of the reader/writer 6 toelectrically connect the credit card 8 with the card terminal 3.

By way of the contact terminal 12, the credit card 8 is supplied withpower for driving itself, and transmits/receives data to/from the cardterminal 3.

The RAM 14 is a randomly writable/readable memory for providing workingmemory for the CPU 11 to perform information processing.

The RAM 14 is capable of holding memory contents while the credit card 8is being supplied with power, but when the power supply is stopped, thememory contents are lost.

The ROM 13 is a read-only memory having stored therein programs,parameters and data that are essential to the functions of the creditcard 8.

These pieces of information are previously burned into the ROM 13, andit is normal not to write additional information and erase the pieces ofinformation.

The EEPROM 15 is a ROM to/from which information can be written/erased.Information stored in the EEPROM 15 can be held even when the creditcard 8 is not being supplied with power.

As such, the ROM 13 and the EEPROM 15 constitute a program/data storagearea in the credit card 8.

The EEPROM 15 has stored therein, for example, an OS (Operating System),which is a basic program for allowing the credit card 8 to function, andan authentication program for authenticating the PIN.

The CPU 11 executes the authentication program to perform authenticationprocessing for a PIN inputted from the card terminal 3.

The electronic money card 9 will be described next. The electronicmoney, card 9 is also a medium that has embedded therein an IC chiphaving various elements formed thereon.

The electronic money card 9 performs a process for increasing/decreasingthe amount of “VALUE” stored therein based on amount change information,and constitutes a monetary terminal for increasing/decreasing the amountof monetary value (“VALUE”) stored therein based on the amount changeinformation.

In addition, the electronic money card 9 has stored therein anelectronic money card number unique thereto, and therefore theelectronic money server 5 can identify the electronic money card 9 basedon the electronic money card number.

The amount of “VALUE” can be updated in two manners, either bycalculating the balance in the electronic money card 9 or by calculatingthe balance in another communication destination such as the electronicmoney server 5.

In the former case, a command is inputted to the electronic money card 9to cause the electronic money card 9 to perform a calculation processtherein. In this case, the command constitutes the amount changeinformation.

While in the latter case, a changed amount of “VALUE” is inputted to theelectronic money card 9 to cause the electronic money card 9 tooverwrite the balance. In this case, the inputted balance of “VALUE”constitutes the amount change information.

Furthermore, it is possible to combine the above methods depending onthe type of calculation, either addition or subtraction, and whichmethod is to be employed is determined by system design.

As described above, the electronic money card 9 is capable ofincreasing/decreasing the amount of “VALUE” stored therein, which iscorrelated with cash so that “VALUE” can be circulated as anexchangeable value equivalent to cash.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the electronic money card 9.

As shown in the figure, the electronic money card 9 includes elementssuch as a CPU 21, a high-frequency circuit 22, an antenna 26, a ROM 23,a RAM 24, and an EEPROM 25.

These elements are formed on the IC chip embedded in the electric moneycard 9. The antenna 26 is composed of an aerial wire, which is providedaround a peripheral portion in the electronic money card 9 and has anend connected to the IC chip.

The CPU 21 is a central processing unit for performing informationprocessing in accordance with programs stored in the ROM 23 and theEEPROM 25.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 21 performs communication processingwith the card terminal 3 via the reader/writer 7, updates the amount ofcurrently stored “VALUE” based on amount change information′ inputtedfrom the card terminal 3, and provides the card terminal 3 with thecurrent balance of “VALUE” and the electronic money card number.

The antenna 26 is an antenna for performing short-range wirelesscommunication with an antenna included in the reader/writer 7.

The electronic money card 9 wirelessly obtains drive power from thereader/writer 7 via the antenna 26, and performs wireless communication.The high-frequency circuit 22 converts a radio frequency wave, which istransmitted from the reader/writer 7 to the antenna 26, into a digitalsignal, and outputs it to the CPU 21, or contrariwise, thehigh-frequency circuit 22 converts a digital signal outputted from theCPU 21 into a radio-frequency wave, and transmits it through the antenna26 to the reader/writer 7.

The RAM 24 is a randomly writable/readable memory for providing workingmemory for the CPU 21 to perform information processing.

The RAM 24 is capable of holding memory contents while the electronicmoney card 9 is being supplied with power, but when the power supply isstopped, the memory contents are lost.

The ROM 23 is a read-only memory having stored therein programs,parameters and data that are essential to the functions of theelectronic money card 9.

These pieces of information are previously burned into the ROM 23, andit is normal not to write additional information and erase the pieces ofinformation.

The EEPROM 25 is a ROM to/from which information can be written/erased.Information stored in the EEPROM 25 can be held even when the electronicmoney card 9 is not being supplied with power.

As such, the ROM 23 and the EEPROM 25 constitute a program/data storagearea in the electronic money card 9.

The EEPROM 26 has stored therein, for example, an OS (Operating System),which is a basic program for allowing the electronic money card 9 tofunction, a current balance of “VALUE” and log data, along with a VALUEprocessing program for performing processing related to “VALUE”, such asupdating of the amount of “VALUE” based on amount change information andproviding the current balance of “VALUE”.

The CPU 21 executes the VALUE processing program to perform charging-upwith “VALUE” (addition of “VALUE”) and settlement (subtraction of“VALUE”).

Referring back to FIG. 1, the card terminal 3 is a terminal deviceinstalled at a location such as a hotel lobby, airport, shop, etc., andconstitutes an IC card terminal.

The card terminal 3 is configured to be connectable to the creditcompany server 4 and the electronic money server 5 via a network such asthe Internet.

Although only one card terminal 3 is shown in the figure, there may be aplurality of card terminals 3, each having its own unique card terminalID. The credit company server 4 is capable of distinguishing among thecard terminals 3 based on their respective card terminal IDs.

Note that the network for connecting the card terminal 3 to the creditcompany server 4 and the electronic money server 5 is not limited to theInternet, and any other networks such as a LAN (Local Area Network), aWAN (Wide Area Network) and a dedicated line network can be used for theconnection.

In addition, by encryption based on, for example, SSL (Secure SocketsLayer) technology, it is made possible to enhance the security of acommunication path between the card terminal 3 and the credit companyserver 4 and the security of a communication path between the cardterminal 3 and the electronic money server 5.

The card terminal 3 is provided with the reader/writer 6 and thereader/writer 7. The reader/writer 6 has a contact terminal that is tobe brought into contact with the contact terminal 12 of the credit card8, and the physical contact with the contact terminal 12 allows the cardterminal 3 to be electrically connected to the credit card 8.

On the other hand, the reader/writer 7 is provided with an antenna and ahigh-frequency circuit in order to perform short-range wirelesscommunication with the electronic money card 9, so that the cardterminal 3 can be electrically connected to the electronic money card 9.

The card terminal 3 has a function of accepting credit cards and afunction of charging up electronic money cards.

Hereinbelow, these functions will be described.

Credit Card Acceptance Function

The card terminal 3 communicates with the credit card 8 via thereader/writer 6 to authenticate the PIN and acquire the credit cardnumber.

For authenticating the PIN, the card terminal 3 accepts input of the PINfrom the user, and inputs it to the credit card 8. Then, the cardterminal 3 receives from the credit card 8 an authentication result asto whether the authentication is successful or not. As such, the cardterminal 3 includes an authentication section for authenticating theuser (owner) of the credit card 8.

In addition, the card terminal 3 requests the credit card 8 for itscredit card number, and acquires the credit card number outputted fromthe credit card 8 responding to the request. As such, the card terminal3 includes a card specification information acquisition section foracquiring card specification information from the credit card 8.

Furthermore, the card terminal 3 accepts the user to input an amountwith which to charge up the electronic money card 9. Thus, the cardterminal 3 acquires amount information specifying the amount with whichto charge up. As such, the card terminal 3 includes an amountinformation acquisition section for acquiring amount information fromauthenticated users.

In addition, the card terminal 3 communicates with the credit card 8 toperform information processing as described above, and reads anelectronic money card number from the electronic money card 9 via thereader/writer 7.

After acquiring various types of information in a manner as describedabove, the card terminal 3 transmits VALUE purchase information to thecredit company server 4. The VALUE purchase information contains theauthentication result, the credit card number, the electronic money cardnumber, and the amount information. As such, the card terminal 3includes a card information transmission section for transmitting thecard specification information and the amount information to the creditcompany server 4 (a financial server).

After the card terminal 3 transmits the VALUE purchase information tothe credit company server 4, the credit company server 4 performsbilling, and communicates with the electronic money server 5 to transmitthe amount information and the electronic money card number thereto.

The electronic money server 5 receives the amount information and theelectronic money card number from the credit company server 4, andprepares for charging up the electronic money card 9.

Electronic Money Card Charging-Up Function

The card terminal 3 inquires of the user as to whether to charge up.

When the user wishes to charge up, the card terminal 3 transmits theelectronic money card number to the electronic money server 5 to inquirewhether the electronic money card 9 currently has any “VALUE” that isavailable for the charging-up, and if there is any “VALUE” that isavailable for the charging-up, the card terminal 3 receives the amountof “VALUE” and presents it to the user.

When the user confirms the presented amount and instructs the cardterminal 3 to execute the charging-up, the card terminal 3 requests theelectronic money server 5 for amount change information.

Then, the card terminal 3 receives (at an amount change informationreception means) amount change information transmitted from theelectronic money server 5 responding to the request, and inputs (with aninput means) the received amount change information to the electronicmoney card 9 via the reader/writer 7.

Upon completion of the charging-up, the card terminal 3 notifies as suchto the electronic money server 5, and reads a post-charging-up amountfrom the electronic money card 9 for presentation to the user.

Based on this presentation, the user can confirm that the electronicmoney card 9 has been charged up with the “VALUE”.

Note that it is also possible to set a password for charging up theelectronic money card 9.

The purpose of this is to allow the electronic money server 5 todetermine whether the requester of the charging-up of the electronicmoney card 9 is a valid owner of the electronic money card 9 (i.e., anowner previously registered with the electronic money server 5).

In this case, the card terminal 3 causes the user to enter a password,and transmits it to the electronic money server 5, and the electronicmoney server 5 checks whether the password matches a password set forthe electronic money card number of the electronic money card 9.

When the password does not match, the charging-up is not performed. Inthe present embodiment, the credit card 8 is used to purchase “VALUE”from the credit company server 4, and immediately thereafter theelectronic money server 5 charges up the electronic money card 9 withthe purchased “VALUE”. However, the credit company server 4 and theelectronic money server 5 are independent of each other, and thereforethe electronic money server 5 does not have to perform the charging-upimmediately after the “VALUE” is purchased with the credit card 8. Thiswill be described later in connection with variants.

Also by means other than by purchasing “VALUE” with the credit card 8,the electronic money server 5 can prepare “VALUE” with which to chargeup the electronic money card 9.

For example, the card terminal 3 can perform, via the electronic moneyserver 5, the charging-up with “VALUE” obtained by the user redeemingpoints from the user's point account or “VALUE” purchased by the userfrom other sources.

In this case, the user places the electronic money card 9 in the cardterminal 3 to inquire of the electronic money server 5 as to an amountof “VALUE” that is currently available for the charging-up, and chargesup the electronic money card 9 with “VALUE” that is available for thecharging-up. As such, the card terminal 3 does not always require thecredit card 8 for charging up the electronic money card 9.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the card terminal 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, the card terminal 3 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 33, aRAM 34, a communication control section 35, a storage section 36, aninput section 37, an output section 38, the reader/writer 7 and thereader/writer 6, which are connected together by a path line 46.

The CPU 31 performs information processing in accordance withpredetermined programs, and controls the entire card terminal 3.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 31 communicates with the credit card8 and the credit company server 4 to carry out the credit cardacceptance function, or communicates with the electronic money card 9and the electronic money server 5 to carry out the electronic money cardcharging-up function.

The ROM 33 is a read-only memory having stored therein, for example,programs and parameters that are essential to the operation of the cardterminal 3.

The RAM 34 is a randomly writable/readable memory for providing workingmemory for the CPU 31 and loading and storing programs and data that arestored in the storage section 36.

The communication control section 35 is a connection device forconnecting the card terminal 3 to a network, so that the card terminal 3can connect to the credit company server 4 and the electronic moneyserver 5 via the communication control section 35.

The storage section 36 is composed of, for example, a hard disk oranother type of storage medium, and a drive unit for driving such diskor medium, and specifically the storage section 36 includes a programstorage portion 42 having various programs stored therein and a datastorage portion 44 having data stored therein.

The program storage portion 42 has stored therein an OS, which is abasic program for operating the card terminal 3, and programs forcausing the CPU 31 to carry out the credit card acceptance function andthe electronic money card charging-up function.

In addition, the data storage portion 44 stores, for example, log dataconcerning information processing performed on the credit card 8 and theelectronic money card 9.

The input section 37 includes input devices, such as a keyboard, a touchpanel and a mouse, by which the user inputs information.

The user operates the input devices to input to the card terminal 3 thePIN for the credit card 8, an amount that is to be purchased forcharging up, and other information.

The output section 38 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display, aCRT (Cathode-ray Tube) display, a plasma display, or another type ofdisplay device. The display device displays various screens forpresenting contents of instructions to the user and matters that are tobe confirmed.

In addition, the output section 38 may include an audio output devicesuch as a loudspeaker so as to output, in audio format, the contents ofinstructions to the user and the matters that are to be confirmed.

The reader/writer 6 and the reader/writer 7 are configured as describedearlier.

The credit company server 4 (FIG. 1) will be described next.

The credit company server 4 constitutes a financial server, and has abilling function for billing the user upon acceptance of VALUE purchaseinformation from the card terminal 3, and a purchase notificationfunction for notifying the electronic money server 5 about acceptance ofthe VALUE purchase information from the user.

Billing Function

The credit company server 4 receives VALUE purchase information from thecard terminal 3, and acquires, from the received information, anauthentication result, a credit card number, an electronic money cardnumber and amount information. This function corresponds to a cardinformation acquisition means.

Thereafter, the credit company server 4 first confirms theauthentication result for the PIN. If the authentication result issuccessful, the rest of the procedure will be performed, whereas if theauthentication result is unsuccessful, the credit company server 4.transmits an error message to the card terminal 3, and terminates theprocedure.

While in the present embodiment, the authentication result is determinedby the credit company server 4, this is not restrictive and thedetermination can be made by the card terminal 3.

In such a case, the card terminal 3 receives and confirms anauthentication result from the credit card. 8. If the authenticationresult is successful, the card terminal 3 transmits the VALUE purchaseinformation to the credit company server 4, whereas if theauthentication result is unsuccessful, the card terminal 3 presents anerror message to the user, and terminates the rest of the procedure.

When the authentication result is successful, the credit company server4 refers to a registered user database, and identifies the user based onthe credit card number.

Then, the credit company server 4 determines whether the user's accountcan be credited. If the crediting is possible, processing as describedbelow is performed, whereas if the crediting is not possible, the cardterminal 3 is notified as such.

FIG. 4A illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of the registereduser database.

The registered user database is a database having stored therein userregistration information, and containing personal information concerningusers registered with the credit company at the time of acquisition ofthe credit card 8.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the registered user database contains “credit cardnumbers”, “PINs”, “names”, “billing accounts”, and other items.

The item “credit card numbers” indicates credit card numbers unique tothe respective credit cards 8 issued to the users.

The item “PINs” indicates PINs that are set for the credit cards 8, andused by the respective credit cards 8 for PIN authentication. The samevalues are stored in the respective credit cards 8.

The item “names” indicates the names of the users.

The item “billing accounts” indicates information for identifyingfinancial accounts from which amounts billed to the users are withdrawn,and the information contains, for example, account numbers for bankaccounts designated by the users, and names of account holders.

In addition, the user registration information contains personalinformation of the users, e.g., registration dates, addresses of theusers, occupations, places of work, phone numbers, and expiration datesof the credit cards 8.

The credit company server 4 is capable of identifying a user bycomparing the credit card number contained in the user registrationinformation configured as described above with a credit card numberreceived from the card terminal 3.

After identifying the user, the credit company server 4 confirms theuser's credit status by referring to a database (not shown), which hasrecorded users' credit quotas and statuses of use of the quotas, anddetermines whether it is possible to credit the user's account with anamount specified by amount information.

If the crediting is possible, the user is billed, whereas if thecrediting is not possible, the credit company server 4 notifies as suchto the card terminal 3.

The credit company server 4 bills the user by recording billinginformation to the billing database. As such, the credit company server4 includes a billing means.

FIG. 4B illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of the billingdatabase.

The billing database is a database in which credit card numbers arecorrelated with billing amounts, and contains items such as “credit cardnumbers”, “billed amounts”, “card terminal IDs” and “dates and times”.

For the item “credit card numbers”, credit card numbers acquired fromVALUE purchase information are recorded.

For the item “billed amounts”, amounts specified by amount informationacquired from the VALUE purchase information are recorded.

For the item “card terminal IDs”, ID information for card terminals 3 isrecorded. Each card terminal 3 has stored therein unique ID informationfor identifying the card terminal 3, and notifies the ID information tothe credit company server 4 to communicate with the credit companyserver 4.

For the item “dates and times”, dates and times at which charging-uprequest information has been received from the card terminals 3 arerecorded.

The billing database is updated by an additional record each time thecredit card 8 is billed.

In this manner, the billing is performed by the credit company server 4upon receipt of the VALUE purchase information from the card terminal 3.

For the billing process, a cutoff date is set approximately per month,and the credit company server 4 totals, for each credit card number,amounts that have been billed up to the cutoff date, and charges thetotal of billed amounts to the billing account registered with theregistered user database.

Purchase Notification Function

The credit company server 4 is connected to the electronic money server5 via a dedicated line or the like, and the credit company server 4,after billing the user, transmits the amount information and theelectronic money card number to the electronic money server 5.

The credit company server 4 is a server device for authenticating theowner of the electronic money card 9, and the credit company server 4transmits to the electronic money server 5 owner identificationinformation for identifying the authenticated owner, i.e., electronicmoney card information (transmitted from the card terminal 3 andcorrelated with a credit card number). As such, the credit companyserver 4 includes a card information providing section. In addition, theelectronic money server 5 constitutes an amount change informationtransmission section for transmitting amount change information to theelectronic money card 9.

The transmission process is performed in real time upon each billingbecause it is assumed that the user charges up the electronic money card9 immediately after purchasing “VALUE” with the credit card 8.

By transmitting the amount information and the electronic money cardnumber to the electronic money server 5, the credit company server 4 cannotify the electronic money server 5 that the user's account has beencredited. By crediting the user's account, the credit company advancespayment for “VALUE” purchased by the user. This is the same as in thecase of usual shopping with a credit card.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary hardwareconfiguration of the credit company server 4.

As shown in FIG. 5, the credit company server 4 includes a CPU 51, a ROM52, a RAM 53, a communication control section 54, and a storage section55, which are connected together by a path line 59.

The CPU 51 performs information processing in accordance withpredetermined programs, and controls the entire credit company server 4.

In the present embodiment, the CPU 51 communicates with the cardterminal 3 to carry out the billing function, and also communicates withthe electronic money server 5 to carry out the purchase notificationfunction.

The ROM 52 is a read-only memory having stored therein, for example,programs and parameters that are essential to the operation of thecredit company server 4.

The RAM 53 is a randomly writable/readable memory for providing workingmemory for the CPU 51 and loading and storing programs and data that arestored in the storage section 55.

The communication control section 54 is a connection device forconnecting the credit company server 4 to a network, so that the creditcompany server 4 can connect to the card terminal 3 and the electronicmoney server 5 via the communication control section 54.

The storage section 55 is composed of, for example, a hard disk oranother type of storage medium, and a drive unit for driving such diskor medium, and specifically the storage section 55 includes a programstorage portion 56 having various programs stored therein and a datastorage portion 57 having data stored therein.

The program storage portion 56 has stored therein, for example, an OS,which is a basic program for operating the credit company server 4, andprograms for causing the CPU 51 to carry out the billing function andthe purchase notification function.

In addition, the data storage portion 57 has stored therein, forexample, the registered user database, a database for managing creditquotas, and the billing database.

Next, the electronic money server 5 (FIG. 1) will be described.

The electronic money server 5 has a charging-up preparation function forpreparing for charging up upon receipt of a notification from the creditcompany server 4, and a charging-up function for charging up theelectronic money card 9.

Charging-Up Preparation Function

The electronic money server 5 receives the amount information and theelectronic money card number from the credit company server 4, andprepares for charging up the electronic money card 9.

The preparation is made by first checking the electronic money cardnumber received from the credit company server 4 against the registereduser database to identify the electronic money card 9 of the user, andthen registering an amount with which to charge up with a charging-uppreparation database.

FIG. 6A illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of the registereduser database.

The registered user database is a database having stored therein userregistration information, and the users register user registrationinformation with a business entity (an electronic money company), whichmanages electronic money, at the time of acquiring the electronic moneycard 9.

The registered user database contains items such as “electronic moneycard numbers”, “user names”, “passwords”, and other items.

The item “electronic money card numbers” indicates numbers unique to therespective electronic money cards 9 issued to the users.

The item “user names” indicates the names of the users.

The item “passwords” indicates passwords that are used, when necessary,for the electronic money server 5 to authenticate the users.

FIG. 6B illustrates an exemplary logical configuration of thecharging-up preparation database.

The charging-up preparation database contains items such as “electronicmoney card numbers”, “amounts”, “expiration dates”, and “charging-up”.

The item “electronic money card numbers” indicates electronic money cardnumbers for electronic money cards that are to be charged up.

The item “amounts” indicates amounts with which to charge up theelectronic money cards.

The item “expiration dates” indicates time limits for charging-up. Ifthe user does not perform charging-up before a time limit, an amountassociated with the time limit is returned to a bank account designatedby the user.

The item “charging-up” indicates flag information as to whether the userhas performed the charging-up. The flag information is set to“completed” when the user has already performed the charging-up, whileit is set as “not completed” until the charging-up is performed.

After confirming the electronic money card number of the electronicmoney card 9 against the registered user database, the electronic moneyserver 5 inputs the above items to the charging-up preparation database,and completes the preparation for charging up with “VALUE”.

Charging-Up Function

To charge up the electronic money card 9, the electronic money server 5transmits the amount change information to the electronic money card 9in response to a request from the card terminal 3 in a manner as shownbelow.

First, the electronic money server 5 receives an electronic money cardnumber of the electronic money card 9 from the card terminal 3.

Then, the electronic money server 5 searches the charging-up preparationdatabase for the electronic money card number to check whether there isany “VALUE” left unused for charging-up.

Specifically, whether the charging-up preparation database contains. theelectronic money card number that is to be retrieved, and if thedatabase contains the electronic money card number, it is checkedwhether the item “charging-up” indicates “not completed” for thatnumber.

If the item “charging-up” indicates “not completed”, an amount recordedfor the item “amounts” is used for the charging-up.

After confirming with the charging-up preparation database that there isany “VALUE” prepared for use in the charging-up, the electronic moneyserver 5 generates amount change information for adding the amount of“VALUE” recorded for the item “amounts”, and transmits it to the cardterminal 3.

The card terminal 3 receives the amount change information, and inputsit to the electronic money card 9 to charge up the electronic money card9.

When the charging-up is successful, the electronic money card 9transmits a notification indicating as such to the electronic moneyserver 5 via the card terminal 3, and the electronic money server 5receives the notification, and updates the item “charging-up” in thecharging-up preparation database to “completed”, thereby completing theprocess. The hardware configuration of the electronic money server 5 isbasically the same as that of the credit company server 4.

However, in the case of the electronic money server 5, the programstorage portion 56 has stored therein, for example, an OS, which is abasic program for operating the electronic money server 5, and programsfor causing the CPU 51 to carry out the charging-up preparation functionand the charging-up function.

In addition, the data storage portion 57 has stored therein, forexample, the registered user database and the charging-up preparationdatabase.

Next, a procedure for the user to purchase “VALUE” with the credit card.8 will be described with reference to a flowchart in FIG. 7.

First, the user places the credit card 8 in the reader/writer 6, so thatthe card terminal 3 establishes a communication path to the credit card8.

Next, the card terminal 3 requests the user to input a PIN and apurchase amount of “VALUE”. Then, the card terminal 3 inputs the PINinputted by the user to the credit card 8 (step 5).

The credit card 8 accepts the input of the PIN from the card terminal 3,and checks the PIN against internally stored PINs to authenticate the.PIN (step 10).

Then, the credit card 8 outputs an authentication result to the cardterminal 3 (step 15).

Furthermore, the card terminal 3 requests the credit card 8 for itscredit card number, and acquires it.

Next, the card terminal 3 requests the electronic money card 9 for itselectronic money card number, and in response to this, the electronicmoney card 9 outputs the electronic money card number to the cardterminal 3 (step 17).

Next, the card terminal 3 transmits to the credit company server 4 VALUEpurchase information as acquired above, which contains the amountinformation (the purchased amount of “VALUE”), the credit card number,the electronic money card number and the authentication result (step20). By simultaneously transmitting the credit card number and theelectronic money card number to the credit company server 4 as describedabove, the card terminal 3 can correlate the two numbers in the creditcompany server 4.

The credit company server 4 receives the VALUE purchase information fromthe card terminal 3, and acquires the authentication result, the creditcard number, the amount information, etc., from the receivedinformation.

After confirming that the authentication result is successful, thecredit company server 4 records the credit card number, the amountinformation, and other items to the billing database, and performs aprocess for billing the user (step 25).

After the billing process, the credit company server 4 transmits theamount information and the electronic money card number to theelectronic money server 5 (step 30).

The electronic money server 5 receives these pieces of information fromthe credit company server 4. Then, the electronic money server 5searches the registered user database for the electronic money cardnumber to identify the electronic money card 9.

Thereafter, the electronic money server 5 records the electronic moneycard number, the amount information, and other information to thecharging-up preparation database (and sets the item “charging-up” to“not completed”), thereby completing the preparation for charging up theelectronic money card 9 (step 35).

With the above procedure, the user can. purchase “VALUE” with the creditcard 8, and make the purchased “VALUE” prepared for charging-up in theelectronic money server 5.

Next, a procedure up to the point where the user charges up theelectronic money card 9 with “VALUE” will be described with reference toa flowchart in FIG. 8.

First, the card terminal 3 requests the electronic money card 9 for itselectronic money card number, and in response to this, the electronicmoney card 9 outputs the electronic money card number to the cardterminal 3 (step 50). Note that the card terminal 3 has already acquiredthe electronic money card number in step 17, and therefore the acquirednumber may be used here.

The card terminal 3 acquires the electronic money card number from theelectronic money card 9, and transmits it to the electronic money server5 (step 55).

The electronic money server 5 receives the electronic money card numberfrom the card terminal 3, and checks it against the registered userdatabase (step 60).

If necessary, the electronic money server 5 causes the user to input apassword with the card terminal 3, and checks the correspondence betweenthe electronic money card number and the password.

Next, the electronic money server 5 searches the charging-up preparationdatabase for the electronic money card number to check whether there isany “VALUE” that is available for charging-up.

If there is any “VALUE” that is available for charging-up, theelectronic money server 5 transmits the amount of “VALUE” that isavailable for charging-up (i.e., the amount recorded for the item“amounts”) to the card terminal 3 (step 65).

The card terminal 3 receives the amount available for charging-up fromthe electronic money server 5, and presents it to the user. Then, theuser confirms the amount.

After the user confirms the amount, the card terminal 3 transmits to theelectronic money server 5 a notification indicating that the amount hasbeen confirmed (step 70).

Upon receipt of the notification from the card terminal 3, theelectronic money server 5 generates amount change information forcharging up with the amount of “VALUE” that is available for charging-up(step 75), and transmits it to the card terminal 3 (step 80).

The card terminal 3 receives the amount change information from theelectronic money server 5 (step 85), and inputs it to the electronicmoney card 9 (step 90).

The electronic money card 9 receives the amount change information fromthe card terminal 3, and updates the amount of currently stored “VALUE”to a post-charging-up amount based on the received information (step95).

Although not shown in the flowchart, the electronic money card 9, afterupdating the amount, outputs an update completion notification and theupdated amount of “VALUE” to the card terminal 3.

The card terminal 3 presents the updated amount to the user, andtransmits the update completion notification to the electronic moneyserver 5. The electronic money server 5 receives the update completionnotification from the card terminal 3 to recognize that the charging-upwith “VALUE” has been completed, and updates the item “charging-up” inthe charging-up preparation database from “not completed” to“completed”.

With the above procedure, the electronic money server 5 can charge upthe electronic money card 9 with “VALUE” prepared for charging-up.

Next, screens presented to the user by the card terminal 3 will bedescribed.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are diagrams each illustrating an exemplary screendisplayed on the card terminal 3 when purchasing “VALUE” with the creditcard 8.

FIG. 9A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary menu screen displayed onthe card terminal 3.

The card terminal 3 provides various services including purchase of“VALUE” with the credit card 8, so that the user can select a desiredservice from among them.

In the example of FIG. 9A, a button 71 for purchasing “VALUE” with acredit card and a balance inquiry button 72 are displayed, and the usercan select a desired service by touching a button associated with theservice.

The user can start the process of purchasing “VALUE” with the creditcard 8 by touching the VALUE purchase button 71.

Note that the balance inquiry button 72 is to be selected to check thebalance of “VALUE” currently stored in the electronic money card 9.

FIG. 9B illustrates a VALUE purchase screen, which is displayed when thepurchase button 71 on the menu screen in FIG. 9A is selected. Thisscreen is displayed in step 5 of the flowchart in FIG. 7.

The VALUE purchase screen displays, for example, the instruction “Pleaseplace credit card and electronic money card, and enter PIN and purchaseamount of ‘VALUE”, thereby instructing the user to place the credit card8 and the electronic money card 9 in the reader/writers 6 and 7,respectively, and enter a PIN and a purchase amount of “VALUE”.

In accordance with the instruction, the user places the credit card 8and the electronic money card 9 in the reader/writers 6 and 7,respectively.

The VALUE purchase screen contains a PIN input field 75, a purchaseamount input field 76, and a “TRANSMIT” button 77, and the user enters aPIN for the credit card 8 in the PIN input field 75, and a purchaseamount of “VALUE” in the purchase amount input field 76.

These numerical values can be entered by the user operating anunillustrated keyboard or touch panel.

When the user enters the PIN in the PIN input field 75, filled circles,rather than the entered PIN itself, are displayed in accordance withdigits of the entered number. Thus, it is possible to prevent the PINfrom being seen by any third party.

After entering the values, the user selects the “TRANSMIT” button 77.

When the “TRANSMIT” button 77 is selected, the card terminal 3authenticates the PIN (steps 10 and 15 in FIG. 7), and transmits anauthentication result, amount information, a credit card number and anelectronic money card number to the credit company server 4 (step 20 inFIG. 7).

FIGS. 10A, 10B and 10C are diagrams each illustrating an exemplaryscreen displayed on the card terminal 3 when charging up the electronicmoney card 9 with purchased “VALUE”.

FIG. 10A illustrates a charging-up screen, which is displayed afterselecting the “TRANSMIT” button 77 on the VALUE purchase screen in FIG.9B. This screen is displayed in step 50 of the flowchart in FIG. 8. Notethat it is assumed herein that a password is required for charging upthe electronic money card 9.

The charging-up screen displays, for example, the instruction “Pleaseplace, electronic money card and enter password”, thereby instructingthe user to ensure that the electronic money card 9 is placed and apassword is entered. Then, the card terminal 3 reads an electronic moneycard number from the electronic money card 9 (step 50 in FIG. 8).

In addition, the charging-up screen displays a password input field 80and a “TRANSMIT” button 81.

In accordance with the instruction, the user ensures that the electronicmoney card 9 is placed in the reader/writer 7, and thereafter the userenters a password in the password input field 80 and selects the“TRANSMIT” button 81.

Note that in the password input field 80, filled circles are displayedin accordance with the password entered by the user.

When the “TRANSMIT” button 81 is selected, the card terminal 3 transmitsthe electronic money card number and the password to the electronicmoney server 5 (step 55 in FIG. 8), and the electronic money server 5transmits an amount available for charging-up to the card terminal 3(step 65 in FIG. 8).

FIG. 10B illustrates an exemplary amount confirmation screen fordisplaying the amount available for charging-up that is transmitted fromthe electronic money server 5. This screen is displayed in step 70 ofthe flowchart in FIG. 8.

The amount confirmation screen presents an amount that is currentlyavailable for charging-up by displaying, for example, “amount availablefor charging-up: ¥2,000”, and also presents, for example, the question“Would you like to charge up?” to confirm whether the user wishes tocharge up.

The charging-up screen contains a button 83 labeled “YES” and a button84 labeled “NO”, and the user selects the button 83 for performingcharging-up or the button 84 for not performing charging-up.

Even after selecting the button 84, the user is still able to charge upat a later time.

FIG. 10C illustrates an exemplary charging-up completion screen fornotifying the user that the charging-up has been completed. This screenis displayed in step 95 of the flowchart in FIG. 8.

The charging-up completion screen presents an amount used forcharging-up by displaying, for example, “charged up with ¥2,000”, andalso presents the balance of “VALUE” after the charging-up bydisplaying, for example, “The balance after charging-up is ¥3,000”.

In the above-described electronic money charging-up system 1 accordingto the present embodiment, the PIN for the electronic money card 9 canbe locally authenticated by the card terminal 3, and furthermoredepending on a result for the authentication, it is made possible topurchase “VALUE” with the credit card 8 based on the user's credit.Thus, the electronic money card 9 can be charged up with the purchased“VALUE”.

In the above embodiment, the credit card 8 is used for purchasing“VALUE”, but it is also possible to use other financial IC cards topurchase “VALUE”.

For example, an IC card provided as a bank cash card can be used topurchase “VALUE”.

In this case, billing can be made by withdrawing from the user's bankaccount. Also, in the above embodiment, the credit company server 4transmits the electronic money card number to the electronic moneyserver 5, but the present invention is not limited to the electronicmoney card number. Any information can be used so long as theinformation identifies the owner (user) authenticated by the creditcompany server 4. The electronic money server 5 charges up an electronicmoney card 9 having an electronic money card number correlated with theowner.

For example, the registered user database in the electronic money server5 may correlate (associate) the electronic money card number of theelectronic money card 9 with the credit card number of the credit card8, and the credit company server 4 may transmit the credit card numberto the electronic money server 5.

In this case, the electronic money server 5 searches the registered userdatabase for the credit card number received from the credit companyserver 4 to identify the electronic money card 9 that is to be chargedup.

Alternatively, the credit company server 4 may correlate credit cardnumbers with their corresponding electronic money card numbers, andtransmit to the electronic money server 5 an electronic money cardnumber corresponding to a credit card number received from the cardterminal 3.

In this case, the card terminal 3 can transfer the electronic money cardnumber to the electronic money server 5 by transmitting the credit cardnumber to the credit company server 4, and therefore it is possible toeliminate the necessity of transmitting the electronic money card numberto the credit company server 4.

In the above-described embodiment, the card terminal 3 is used tosequentially perform purchase of “VALUE” and charging-up with thepurchased “VALUE”, but it is also possible to charge up the electronicmoney card 9 with the purchased “VALUE” at any later time.

Referring to FIG. 11, the case where the user performs charging-up athome will now be described.

A user terminal 10 shown in FIG. 11 is composed of, for example, apersonal computer connectable to the Internet and a reader/writer 7provided therewith.

First, the user places the credit card 8 in the card terminal 3, andpurchases “VALUE” from the credit company server 4. Thereafter, the userplaces the electronic money card 9 in the user terminal 10 at home, andconnects to the electronic money server 5 to charge up the electronicmoney card 9 with the purchased “VALUE”.

In this manner, the user can acquire “VALUE” purchased with the creditcard 8 in the card terminal 3, at a later time, from a terminal devicedifferent from the card terminal 3.

In addition to the personal computer, it is also possible to use anymobile terminal having a function for processing “VALUE” as the terminaldevice.

FIG. 11 also shows the case where a cell phone 60 is used for chargingup with “VALUE”.

The cell phone 60 has a function of connecting to the Internet andfunctions similar to those of the electronic money card 9.

After purchasing “VALUE” with the credit card 8, the user uses the cellphone 60 to access the electronic money server 5, and charges up thecell phone 60 with the purchased “VALUE”.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary functionalconfiguration of the cell phone 60.

As shown in FIG. 12, the cell phone 60 includes a phone function portion61, which carries out a function as an Internet connectable cell phone,an electronic money function portion 67, which is composed of acontactless-type IC chip similar to that included in the electronicmoney card 9 and carries out a function for processing electronic money,and an interface portion 65, which connects the two portions.

The cell phone 60 constitutes a monetary terminal with the electronicmoney function portion 67 capable of carrying out the function ofprocessing electronic money in the same manner as the electronic moneycard 9.

The phone function portion 61 is capable of wireless communication witha base station for the cell phone 60, and connecting via the basestation to a telephone line network (to make a call) or to the Internet(to access the electronic money server 5).

The phone function portion 61 has an application 62 installed therein.The application 62 provides various services related to electronicmoney, and includes a relay section 63 for accessing the electronicmoney function portion 67 via the interface portion 65.

The application 62 has a function of accessing the electronic moneyfunction portion 67 and presenting to the user information stored in theelectronic money function portion 67, e.g., an electronic money card ID,the balance of “VALUE” and log data.

Furthermore, the application 62 communicates with the electronic moneyserver 5 via the Internet.

Thus, it is possible to transmit to the electronic money server 5 theelectronic money card ID and the balance of “VALUE” that are stored inthe electronic money function portion 67 or to input amount changeinformation, which is transmitted from the electronic money server 5, tothe electronic money function portion 67.

Although not shown in the figure, as in the case of the electronic moneycard 9, the electronic money function portion 67 is composed of anantenna and a contactless-type IC chip having formed thereon elementssuch as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an EEPROM and a high-frequency circuit, andthe CPU executes a predetermined program to form a VALUE processingsection 68 and a storage section 69 as shown in FIG. 12.

The storage section 69 has stored therein the electronic money card ID,the balance of “VALUE”, log data, etc.

The VALUE processing section 68 outputs the electronic money card ID andthe balance of “VALUE” in accordance with an instruction from anexternal communication destination, or receives amount changeinformation from an external communication destination to update thebalance of “VALUE”.

Examples of the communication destination of the VALUE processingsection 68 include the card terminal 3, the electronic money server 5,and an electronic money terminal 80 installed at a store or the like.

When communicating with the card terminal 3 or the electronic moneyterminal 80, the VALUE processing section 68 performs wirelesscommunication via an antenna included in the terminal. In this case, theuser places the cell phone 60 near the card terminal or the electronicmoney terminal.

Communication with the electronic money server 5 is performed via theapplication 62 over the Internet.

As such, the cell phone 60 communicates with the electronic moneyterminal or the electronic money server 5 to input amount changeinformation to the electronic money function portion 67, therebycharging up the electronic money function portion 67 with “VALUE” ormaking settlement by using “VALUE” in the electronic money functionportion 67.

In addition, the VALUE processing section 68 is capable of wirelesscommunication with the card terminal 3, and therefore it is possible toperform charging-up with “VALUE” by placing the cell phone in the cardterminal 3 as in the case of the electronic money card 9.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining how the electronic money card 9 andthe cell phone 60 are used.

After being charged up, the electronic money card 9 and the cell phone60 are used in an electronic money system 1 a shown in FIG. 13.

The electronic money system 1 a includes the electronic moneycharging-up system 1 composed of the credit company server 4, theelectronic money server 5, the card terminal 3, etc., and also includesthe Internet 72, a base station 70, a telephone line network 71,electronic money terminals 80, a user terminal 10, etc.

The electronic money terminals 80 are terminal devices for accessing acontactless-type IC card, which are installed at stores and exclusivelydesigned for electronic money business.

The electronic money terminals 80 are each provided with a reader/writerportion including an antenna by which to transmit/receive electric wavesto perform short-range wireless communication with contactless-type ICchips embedded in monetary terminals such as the electronic money card 9and the cell phone 60.

The electronic money terminals 80 are capable of wireless communicationwith the monetary terminals such as the electronic money card 9 and thecell phone 60 to read electronic money card IDs set thereof and balancesof “VALUE” stored therein or to input amount change information to themonetary terminals to increase/decrease the amounts of “VALUE”.

In such a manner, the electronic money terminals 80 are capable ofincreasing/decreasing “VALUE” stored in the electronic money card 9 andthe cell phone 60. Therefore, when charging up the electronic money card9 or the cell phone 60, a payment equivalent to an amount of money usedfor the charging-up is collected from the user (or such a payment ismade by the credit card 8), and settlement for merchandise or service ismade by subtracting “VALUE” owned by the user, rather than by collectinga payment for the merchandise or service from the user, so that “VALUE”can be circulated as a substitute for money.

The user terminal 10 is a terminal device, such as a personal computer,which is capable of connecting to the electronic money server 5 via theInternet 72.

In addition, the user terminal 10 is provided with a reader/writer 10 aas a peripheral device by which to perform short-range wirelesscommunication with the electronic money card 9 and the cell phone 60.

Furthermore, the user connects the electronic money card 9 or the cellphone 60 to the user terminal 10 via the reader/writer 10 a, and furtherconnects the user terminal 10 to the electronic money server 5, therebyconnecting the electronic money card 9 or the cell phone 60 to theelectronic money server 5.

This makes it possible for the electronic money server 5 toincrease/decrease “VALUE” in the electronic money card 9 or the cellphone 60.

In the case of the cell phone 60, it is also possible to connect it tothe electronic money server 5 via the base station 70.

Note that the telephone line network 71 is a network used by the cellphone 60 to make a call.

As described above, the electronic money system 1 a is a circulationmechanism for circulating “VALUE” in the same manner as currency iscirculated, so that the user can use “VALUE” obtained by charging-upwith the credit card 8 for purchasing merchandise and services.

Next, variants of the credit card 8 and the electronic money card 9 willbe described.

FIG. 14A illustrates a case where a contactless-type IC card is providedas a credit card 8 a.

The credit card 8 a has the same functions as the credit card 8, whichis a contact-type IC card, but its interface for connecting to the cardterminal 3 is a contactless-type.

In this case, the card terminal 3 authenticates a PIN for the creditcard 8 a via the reader/writer 7, and reads a credit card number of thecredit card 8 a via the reader/writer 7.

As such, when both the credit card 8 a and the electronic money card 9are contactless-type IC cards, it is possible to perform processing withthe reader/writer 7 without having to use the reader/writer 6.

Note that the reader/writer 7 is not capable of simultaneously accessingthe credit card 8 a and the electronic money card 9, and therefore, forexample, the card terminal 3 causes the user to first place the creditcard 8 a in the reader/writer 7 for processing, and then place theelectronic money card 9 in the reader/writer 7 to charge up theelectronic money card 9.

Note that in FIG. 14A, both the credit card 8 a and the electronic moneycard 9 are contactless-type IC cards, but it is possible to usecontact-type IC cards for the both of them.

In such a case, the both cards can be accessed via the reader/writer 6to perform processing as described above.

FIG. 14B illustrates a case where a contactless-type IC card 9 afunctions as both the credit card 8 and the electronic money card 9.

The contactless-type IC card 9 a can be realized by incorporating intoan IC chip embedded therein a program for carrying out a credit cardfunction and a program for carrying out an electronic money cardfunction.

The card terminal 3 is capable of communicating with the contactlesstypeIC card 9 a via the reader/writer 7, and switching the drive mode of thecontactless-type IC card 9 a between a credit card mode and anelectronic money card mode.

In the case of performing credit card-related processing, the cardterminal 3 drives the contactless-type IC card 9 a in the credit cardmode to, for example, authenticate a PIN, whereas in the case ofperforming charging-up processing, the card terminal 3 drives thecontactless-type IC card 9 a in the electronic money card mode.

Thus, the user can perform both the credit card-related processing andthe electronic money card-related processing by simply placing thecontactless-type IC card 9 a in the reader/writer 7.

Note that it is also possible to provide the contact-type IC card withthe credit card function and the electronic money card function. In sucha case, the contact-type IC card can be accessed via the reader/writer6.

In addition, it is possible to embed into a single card a contact-typeIC chip having the credit card function and a contactless-type IC chiphaving the electronic money function.

In this case, the card includes a contact terminal for accessing thereader/writer 6 and a high-frequency circuit for accessing thereader/writer 7. The card is placed in the reader/writer 6 for use as acredit card, and in the reader/writer 7 for use as an electronic moneycard.

On the other hand, it is also possible to embed into a single card acontact-type IC chip having the electronic money card function and acontactless-type IC chip having the credit card function.

In this case, the card is placed in the reader/writer 7 for use as acredit card, and in the reader/writer 6 for use as an electronic moneycard.

FIG. 14C illustrates a case where the cell phone 60 has embedded thereina contactless-type IC chip for carrying out the electronic money cardfunction.

In this case, the card terminal 3 can access the cell phone 60 via thereader/writer 7, and therefore the cell phone 60 can be used in the samemanner as the electronic money card 9 is used.

Specifically, the cell phone 60 can be charged up the electronic moneycard 9, with “VALUE” purchased with the credit card 8.

In addition, it is also possible to make a further variation to providethe credit card function to the contactless-type IC chip embedded in thecell phone 60.

In this case, by simply placing the cell phone 60 in the reader/writer7, it is made possible to purchase “VALUE” and charge up the cell phone60 with the purchased “VALUE” without having to use the credit card 8.

Furthermore, in addition to the cell phone 60, various media such aswristwatches and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) can be embedded withthe contact-type IC chip and the contactless-type IC chip.

As described above, the credit card function and the electronic moneycard function can be implemented by IC chips, which can be either ofcontact-type or of contactless-type.

In addition, the credit card function and the electronic money cardfunction can be implemented by a single IC chip.

Therefore, it is possible to embed the credit card function and theelectronic money function into various types of media.

While the embodiment and the variants have been described above, variousvariations can be made to server devices.

For example, the credit company server 4 and the electronic money server5 can be implemented by a single server device, or the credit companyserver 4 and the electronic money server 5 can be each implemented as asystem consisting of a plurality of server devices.

The above described embodiment and variants make it possible to purchase“VALUE” by billing a credit card, and charge up the electronic moneycard 9, the cell phone 60, etc., with the purchased “VALUE”.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

The application is claimed as follows:
 1. A financial server comprising:a card information reception means for receiving card specificationinformation and amount information from an IC card terminal havingauthenticated an owner of a financial IC card based on authenticationinformation stored in the financial IC card, wherein the cardspecification information specifies the financial IC card; a cardinformation providing means for providing an amount change informationtransmission means with the amount information and owner identificationinformation for the owner specified by the card specificationinformation, wherein the amount change information transmission meanstransmits amount change information for increasing an amount of amonetary value to a monetary terminal, which increases/decreases anamount of the monetary value stored therein based on the amount changeinformation; and a billing means for billing the owner for a fee basedon the provided amount information.